Good read and just making me that much more optimistic that Jermaine will return to his old form this fall with the Raptors. Can't wait. :dancing:

Quote:

Originally Posted by National Post

Jermaine O'Neal has plenty of blemishes. His old coaches would tell you to ignore them.

Pay no mind to the statutory rape case that swirled around him when he was a 17-year-old in South Carolina. Forget about the minor problems he got into as a prep-turned-pro in Portland. Stop thinking about that brawl in Detroit.

Dallas Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle, who coached O'Neal in both Portland and Indiana, has. He calls O'Neal, a married father of two children, a "conscientious family man." Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Mike Brown, who was an assistant with the brawling Pacers, calls O'Neal "terrific." Repeatedly. Former Toronto Raptors head coach Kevin O'Neill, another assistant with that Indiana team, says he "can't say enough good things about him."

George Glymph understands why. Glymph, who was O'Neal's mentor, high-school coach and later an assistant coach with the Pacers, remembers that in March, 2003, O'Neal was the first on the scene when his stepfather, Abraham Kennedy, shot himself in the head. He remembers that O'Neal, with his mother too stricken by grief, was left to make the decision whether to let Kennedy die, or to have doctors perform a highly risky surgery that could save him or leave him brain dead.

And Glymph remembers what O'Neal did after choosing the surgery, which ultimately saved Kennedy's life.

"The most amazing thing about the whole situation is that two days later, we had to go on a West Coast trip," Glymph recalled from his South Carolina home. "Isiah [Thomas, the Pacers coach] and Donnie [Walsh, the team president] told him, 'Don't worry about the trip. You take care of your mom and your stepfather.' And we were there on the tarmac waiting for the plane to take off, and who walks across the tarmac but Jermaine O'Neal. And he had one of the best games he ever had. He needed that to get away from the pressure of what had happened, just to relieve his mind."

That's a great read. At least now we know he's got the character and heart. I can't wait for this season to come and see him play. I never though of any of the above problems (rape case, brawl). If anything, i'd be worried about his injury frequency problem. But i'm much more confidence with him now.

Gurk

07-09-2008 02:11 PM

bring on the 2008-2009 season
cant wait

moremilk

07-09-2008 02:11 PM

statutory rape is a joke... half the world is guilty of that crime. I honestly consider statutory rape as a lesser offence than a speeding ticket. And I'm not even sure how can a 17 years be guilty of statutory rape, don't you have to be an adult to commit this "crime"?

IggyPosterizes

07-09-2008 02:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by moremilk
(Post 42248)

statutory rape is a joke... half the world is guilty of that crime. I honestly consider statutory rape as a lesser offence than a speeding ticket. And I'm not even sure how can a 17 years be guilty of statutory rape, don't you have to be an adult to commit this "crime"?

this post made me laugh, thank you

LX

07-09-2008 03:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by moremilk
(Post 42248)

And I'm not even sure how can a 17 years be guilty of statutory rape, don't you have to be an adult to commit this "crime"?

It's in the article -

Quote:

At the time, it was illegal for anybody older than 16 to have sex with anybody younger than 16 in the state.

The hysteria over kids having sex is pretty big down there. And it doesn't seem to help much.

moremilk

07-09-2008 06:59 PM

didn't read it - I was in my lunch break ... :) If they really care about kids, they should stop harassing them with stupidities like this. They did incomparable more damage to that girl (with the publicity) by accusing O'Neal than O'Neal ever did to her.

LX

07-09-2008 07:37 PM

agreed

Gurk

07-09-2008 07:48 PM

if this offense is almost nothing then why have it as a law?

moremilk

07-09-2008 09:49 PM

For one, just because it's a law, that doesn't make it right .... abortion is both legal and illegal, depending on the country. Same for the death penalty ... Even statutory rape has different requirements in different countries (or even states).

Also, not all offenses punishable under the law are serious ... If you forget your driver license at home and you get caught, the law says you are guilty of a "crime". There are many level of "guilt", and the way I see it, "statutory rape" is right there at the bottom, with the speeding tickets and parking fines. The word "rape" has absolutely no logical meaning in that expression.

LX

07-09-2008 10:21 PM

I think those kinds of laws are there as a substitute for good parenting. I do think that kids having sex can bring all kinds of trouble with it, especially when you've got imbalances of power and influence with older men preying on young girls. But the laws that just try to restrict sex among consensual teenagers are ineffective, and seem to be meant to do a job that parenting should be meant to do. It is tough when sex gets attached to everything in the culture as a kind of toss-off thing to do, and then kids are expected to think wisely about it. There are a lot of things at odds there. My biggest thing is that boys ought to be taught to respect women from a very young age, so that once the hormones set in, there is something to balance the brain's ability to see them as playthings alone. Again the culture tends to do the opposite.

Major

07-09-2008 10:22 PM

LX I love your avy :haha:

LX

07-09-2008 10:26 PM

Thanks Major. It's one of my favorites in a while. Jose provided the perfect expression.

Major

07-09-2008 10:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by •LX•
(Post 42419)

Thanks Major. It's one of my favorites in a while. Jose provided the perfect expression.

Ahahah Jermaine's tit is the best IMO :p

IggyPosterizes

07-09-2008 10:38 PM

I dont get your pic, shouldn't it be the other way aroound? Jose feeding Jermaine....